Process of and apparatus for the bleaching, dyeing, and analogous treatment of textile fibers



' Oct. 27, 1925.

J. BRANDwooD ET AL PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE BLEACHING, DYEING, AND ANALOGDUS TREATMENT OF TEXTILE FIBERS Filed Jan. 24. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1,558,460 J. BRANDWOOD ETI L PRocEss 0F AND APPARATUS FOR THE BLEAGHING, DYEING, AND ANALoGoUs TREATMENT 0F TEXTILE FIBERS Filed Jan. 24 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l nvrmfors QA Z 4 BJ I 1 Patented oa. 21, v1925.

- UNITED STATES JOHN'BRALNDWOOD. THKASBRANDWO'OD, AND JOSEPH rBIRANQDWOQD, 0F ELEIN,`

'BU-RY, ENGLAND. I

rRocEss or AND APPARaTiJsFoR TJa :EBLEAcHING, DYEI'NG; AND ANALoGoUs f TREATMENT oF TEXTILE FIBERS;

applicann mea January 24,19%; serial N95. ssnes'i.-

. To'aZZ whom t may concern.'

, Be it known that we, JOHN BnANDwoon, THoMAs BRANDwooD, and JOSEPH BRAND- wooD, subjects of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and reside-nts of Elton, Bury, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certain Improvements in Processes of andJApparatus for the Bleaching, Dyeing, and `Analogous Treatment of Textile Fibers', of which the following is a specification.

In our co-pending application Serial N o. 469,726, we have described and claimed a cert-ain process for the dyeing and analogous treatment of textile fibers in the loose state, that is, prior to spinning, which process con- .sists in passing the material in a belt conveyor through'the treatment apparatus and around and over perforated surfaces in' the said apparatus, the fluid with which the material is being treated being drawn through the said material held in the conveyor and through the perforations of the before mentioned perforated surfaces. Means are also provided for ensuring that none of the fluid shall pass from the treatment tank through the. perforated .surfaces without passing through the ymaterial being treated, and guide pulleys for the conveyor within the apparatus are also provided.

The present improvements have for ob- .ject a simplication of the apparatus dey scribed in -the said application No..469,726 for carrying out the process referred to, and rhave for object improvements in the convyor for carrying the material through the apparatus: improvements in. the driving `means for said conveyor; a re-arrangement and modification of the perforated surfaces and the' means for ensuring that all flu-id passing through the perforations of the said surfaces shall pass through the material carried by the conveyor, and the elimination of rthe guide pulleys within the apparatus.

With these objects in view, our improvements consist-of the apparatusto be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawingsyin-whichw- Fig, l, isa partly sectional side elevation of the apparatus:

and friction drive for the driving and 4 squeezing rollers of the apparatus.

In Figures 1, 2 and 3, t ose parts of the apparatus which are not immediately con-I cerned with these present improvements, and those parts which are of already known constructlons and capable of being constructed by any person skilled in the art and without special direction,` are only indicated or shown diagrammatically.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, l is a tank, which we will hereinafter refer to as the preliminary treatment tank and which may be composedofmetal plates or be formed in any convenient and known manner. 2, 3 and 4 are further tanks, hereinafterreferred to as the treatment tank, 'the Walls of which are broken away at 5 to show the cylinders and their support-s. The transverse partitions between the tanks are provided at their upper ends with inclined plates 6. 7, 8 are pairs of rollers which ma be' mounted in cheeks, or a framework o known con'- struct-ion situated on either side of the tanks, said rollers having special means ofy adjustment as will be hereinafter described.

The Ymaterial to be treated in the apparatus, say in the ,process of dyeing, is formed into laps in the scutching machines, and is; then placed upon a ta le having end bearings for the reception necks, as described in our application No. 469,726. The laps are 4fed as described in the said application, into thenip of two conveyor belts or bands 9, 10, and which are` together referred to hereinafter as the conveyor 9, 10. As will be seenl on reference to the accompanying drawings, the conveyor belt 9 is endless as is also'the conveyor l0,

l and return .to the nip 'w over the rollers 7 and other rollers specially provided for the purposes.

The cylinders 11 Within the preliminary treatment tank and within the treatment tanks proper and around which cylinder the conveyor 9, 10 passes, arel formed as shown in section in Figure 3. In thatfigure 11 is the cylinder proper, provided with perforations 12, which perforations may be of any convenient number and dimensions, and which are formed all over the surface of the cylinder. As will be seen from Figure 3, the cylinder 11 is a sleeve which rotates around and in contact with a cylindrical support. The latter is formed of a central tube 13 and an 'outer cylindrical shell 14, the inner central tube 13 and the outer shell 14 being connected by spokes 15 for strengthening purposes. Further short radial projections 16 are provided at the lower side of the central tube 13 and these projections connect with a strengthening plate or gusset plate 17 for the ends 18, 18 of the cylinder. Circular orifices 19 shown in Figure 3, are provided in the walls of the lower section of the central tube 13.

The outerface of the cylinder Wall 14 is formed with an annular flange or abutment 20. To adjust the cylinder 11 so that it will be in correct sliding relation with the cylinder wall 14, the latter is machined so that the said cylinder will lit therearound without'leaving any spaces or interstices between the two surfaces.

In assembling, the cylinder 11 is slid upon the cylinder support 14, until the end thereof abuts against the fiange 20. A separate collar 21 is then placed upon the cylinder 14 and slid against the end of the cylinder 11 to a position which will enable the said edge of the cylinder 11 toi-make sliding contact with the fiange or abutment 2() and the inner face of the collar 21, the latter being then secured upon the supporting cylinder in any `convenient, manner, as for instance by means of bolts or set screws. The ends 18 18 of the cylindricalsupport are inwardly flanged so that a complete bearin surface is provided for the ends of the cyhnder 11, and those portions of the latter which slide. upon these flanges are not perforated. Ro-

tary pumps 23 are connected to the central' tube 13 in each case by means of pipes 24, and a further pipe 25 o ens communication between each pump an the liquor in each tank, or, when the treatment is to be effected with air, with `the atmosphere. Any knownf or convenient type of rota pump may be employed. Where all the cy inders and their supports are not in line horizontally, the

plpes 24 maybe bent pipes as shown at 24,

igure 2.

In operating the machine, the material to `be treated passes as before indicated into the nip w of the conveyor 9-10 and the said conveyor is drawn through the apparatus by means of the pairs of rollers 7, 8, which are ldriven from the fast and loose pulleys 26, 27

through the toothed gearing 28, 29, 30, and 31 the worm shaft 32, the worm wheels 33 and the friction drive shown in Figures 3 vthe cylinder 11 which is passing at any time over the Wall 14 of the supporting cylinder are blocked by the said Wall 14, but free access is obtained for the passage of the liquor in the tank 1, to the interior of the cylindrical support through the perforations on that face of the cylinder which is passing from the point y to the point z. Pump 23 therefore draws liquor, from the tank 1 through the perforations 12 which are blocked by the conveyor 9, 10 and the material borne thereby into the cylindrical support, through the orifices 18 into the central tube 13 and thence back to the pump, this treatment being continued while the conveyor slowly asses through the tank and rotate the cylin er 11. By this arrangement therefore the perforations of the cylinder are always completely blocked while the apparatus is in operation; those on the upper portion of the cylinder 11 by the solid wall 14 of the cylindrical support, so that no liquor may pass therethrough; and those on the lower portion of the cylinder' 11 by the conveyor and the material carried thereby. Liquor drawn through thev perforations 12 on the lower portion of the cylinder 11 must therefore pass through the material in theconveyor. This preliminary treatment tank may be filled with water for the purpose of allowing the pump to extract therefrom air and waste matters which are always to be found in textile fibers before they have gone through the carding process, and the pump 23 may be of any form found most suitable for the purpose.

From the preliminary tank l'the-conveyoi; passes with its contained material to the first treatment tank 2, t'hecylinders of which are of exactly the same construction as that described and shown .in Figure 3, with the exception that, as there are three cylinders in this tank, the central c linder, to allow of the continuous travel o the conveyor 9, 10, has its sup ort reversed, the solid portion 14 of the said) support closing the perforations on the lower portion of the rotating cylinder. The dimensions of the solid portions of the cylindrical sup yrts vin this three-fold arrangement `of cy inders in one tank are such that as the conveyor 9, 10 leaves the first cylinder-11, the angle it forms with the next cylinder will not uncover any perforations which are not blocked or closed by the wall 14 of either of t'he cylindrical su ports.

arious treatments may be given to the 'material in the conveyor 9, 10 as it passes other treatment, by means of pumps, in any sequence, andfor which the apparatus is suitable, may be effected therein.

One or more or a-ll of the pairs of rollers 7, 8'may be mounted as shown in Figure l, to the left of that figure. -T he lower ro'ller 8 is mounted' in a fixed bearing 34 and the upper roller -7 is 'mounted in a bearing block which engages with and is adapted to slide vertically between the side cheeks 36 of the vframe.` On a lug 37 of one cheek 36 is pivoted thevlever 38, which is pivotally connected bylm'eans of a link 39, thelength of which is adjustable lay/the turn-buckle 40,

to the lower lever 41 fulcrumed at-42 and bearing the counterweight 43. The upper lever 38 bears at 44 a tapped nut (not shown) through which the threaded spindle 45 passes and which spindle rotatably engages at its lower end with the bracket 46 o n the adjustable bearing block 35. The

spindle 45 is provided with the hand wheel .47. B this construction high .frictional'contact o the rollers 7, 8 with ,the conve or 9, 10 is assured, as the counterweig t 43- through 'its connections always exerts pressure upon the upperroller 7 by reason of the sliding'l bearing 35, while allowing. the said upper roller to yi'eld should any undue thickness of the conveyor 'at any point demand such ielding. At the same time the threaded spindle 45 permits of positive `adjustment of therollers of'a pair in relation to each other, to suit the thick'nessof maf through the apparatus. l

In order to maintain the -necessarytaut` ness of the upper conveyor belt 9 ofthe conveyor 9, 10, we may mount. a -gravity terial which it is decidedat any time to pass roller 48 in bearings 49 adapted tov slide freely within the side frames 50. One of these frames, fwith the necessary bearing block, is provided at each side of the machine, and the upward movement of the bearing 49 in its guide is limited by the screw down member 51 adjustable by means of the threaded spindle 52 and the handvwheel 53. One.. or more of these .gravity to.` rollers, Awith the adjustin members re-l ferred to, may be' employe 'rho lower -oonvoyor bon 1o of tho cool, l return from the out-.-v -let end of the machine to the'nip w, may

pass-"over rollers 54` fitted in bearings in any known mannerblow the bottom of the tanks as shown. To allow of this, the tanks are supported. at their opposite ends on brick or Rconcrete or other suitable blocks 55. The bottom of each tank however is in communication with a sump preferably below the floor and formed to allow of easy drainage of waste liquor, the supporting pillars 55 being employed for the. tanks as shown. As adjusting means for the lower belt conveyor, two brackets 56 are bolted or otherwise secured at either 'end of thel inserting a bar in the tommy holes 60 the bearing block 57 mayl be adjusted as desired within the slot, to tighten lor slacken the conveyor belt.

\ In Figure 4 is-shown to a larger scale than the other figures the details of the special drive for the pairs ofrollers 7, 8, to

give an efficient drive and at the same time to allow the rollers 7, y8 to slip should too great a thickness of material be presented to them in the 4conveyor 9, 10, such capa-I bility of slipping avoiding damage to thesaid conveyor and consequent possible waste 0f material. In Figure 4, 32 is the worm shaft, driven as indicated in Figure 1, and 33 a worm wheel meshing with the said shaft. These members are of usual construction and are merely indicated diagrammatically in the figure. The worm wheel 33 meshes with a corresponding spur -Wheel on the shaft 32 and is formed with a hollow boss 61 and is mounted on the roller Vshaft 62 so that it may rotateA freely: thereon. On the boss or sleeve 61 or compounded with the worm wheel 33 is the friction disc 63 making v:t'rictional contact Wi'thanother friction disc 64 these discs being preferably formed as shown, that is, the drivlng faces are'formed of annular rings secured to the discs no engagement ofthe disc 63,64 taking place nearthe centre thereof; The disc 64 is keyed upon. the `roller shaft 62, and 'I on the said roller shaft isv keyed a spur wheel 65 meshing with aspur wheeliof the lsame diameter keyed to the shaft "66' of the upper roller 7. A-spring 67 and hand-wheel 68 are .employedto 'regulate the pressure of the faces of -thediscs 631and 64. v On rotation ofthe worm w eel 33, .which is as stated loose on the sha 62thel friction disc 63 also rotates 'and by its contact with the driving 4face of the4 friction. disc. A,64 rotates the shaft 62 to which the'friction disc,64 is secured.v The lower roller. 8 Ais thus ro tated and the" spur wheel. 65 keyed on the shaft 62 communicates lits movement to the los ing perforations thereof.

keyed on the shaft 66. Each roller thereforel has at all times the same speed of revolution. veyor 9, 10 4be Yby inadvertance too thick to allow the said conveyor to pass between the rollers 7, 8 and the rollers be -thereby slowed down, slipping will take place bctween the faces of the discs 63 and 64 and damage to the conveyor be thereby prevented. 70, 71 are the brushing off rollers and brackets for removing the material from the lower conveyor 10 as it separates from the upper conveyor 9, in the manner described in co-pending application Serial No. 469,726.

What we claim as our invention and dcsire to secure by Letters Patent is l. In an appara-tus for treating textile fabrics, the combination of a plurality of rotatable perforated cylinders each supported upon a lixed central bearing adapted to cover some of the perforations in the cylinder as the latter rotates around said bearing, and a conveyor passing over said cylindersand adapted to cover the remain- 2. In an apparatus for treating textile `fabrics, the combination of a plurality of rotatable perforated cylinders, a support for each of said cylinders comprising a stationary tubular member adapted to admit a fluid tothe interior of said cylinder, and means carried by said support for covering a portion of the interior surface of the c'ylinder thereby to prevent escape pf the fluid through the perforations atsaid portion.`

3. In an apparatus for treating textile fabrics, the'combination of "a, plurality of rotatable perforatedcylinders, a support for each of said'cylindeis comprising a stationary tubular member adapted to admit a fluid to the interior of said cylinder, means carried by said support for covering a portion of the interior surface of the cylinder therel. by to prevent escapeJ of thdlluid through the perforations `at said portion, and Va, conveyor comprising a-pairv of traveling belts adapted to carry between them the material to be treated and to engagethe cylinders so Should the material in the conthat said material covers the ortion of the cylinder which is not covered y the interior covering. y

4. In an apparatus for treating textile fabrics, the combination of a plurality of rotatable perforated cylinders, a support for each of said cylinders comprising a stationary tubular member adapted to admit a fluid to the interior of said cylinder, means carried by said support for covering a portion of the interior surface of thecyl.' nder there-v by to prevent escape of the lfluid through the perfor-ations at said portion, a .conveyor comprising a pair of traveling belts adapted to carry between them the material to be treated and to engage the cylinders so that said material covers the portion of the cylinder which is not covered by the interior covering, pairs of driven rollers yieldingly engaging said belts thereby to cause thesame to travel with the contained material in contact with successive cylinders, and means for adjusting the frictional engagement of said rollers with said belts.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a pair of belts, pairs of driven rollers engaging said belts for causing travel of the latter, one of each pair of rollers being mounted for sliding movement toward and from the other, and gravity operated means for yieldingly urging the slidable roller toward its companion roller.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a pair of belts, pairs of driven rollers engaging said belts .for causing'travel of the latter, one of each pair of rollers being mounted for sliding movement toward and from Vthe other, gravity operated means for yieldingly urging-the slidable roller toward its companion roller, and manually operated means for adjusting said frictional engagement of the rollers with the belts.l

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

JOHN BRANDwooD. r THOMAS BRANDwooD. JOSEPH BnANDwooD. 

